Community | September 24, 2009 | 4 comments

The Weakness of National Military Strength

source: http://www.truthout.org/092309T?n

Image
Progresshiv
"During 2008, the nations of the world spent nearly $1.5 trillion on their military forces. That is what has been reported by the highly respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which noted that the five biggest spenders were the United States ($607 billion), China ($85 billion), France ($66 billion), Britain ($65 billion) and Russia ($59 billion). Adjusted for inflation, the total represents an increase of 45 percent in military expenditures over the past decade. And so the game of national military 'defense' continues, despite clear indications of its negative consequences."
  1. groups:
    Community,   Opinion
  2. tags:
    War,  Military,  Peace,  Weapons,  4 more
  3.     
    |

4 comments // The Weakness of National Military Strength

  • Incredulous
    • 0
      Incredulous  
    • Image

    • an alternative rendering of these facts might lead one to question if they too are not being manipulated by the munitions suppliers.

      Buying in to the notion that we do not have the ability to conduct a modern war merely justifies yet more military spending.

      What would happen if we all decided to step off the gerbil wheel just long enough to see where we are actually not going?

    • 2 years ago
  • masterzip
    • 0
      masterzip  

    • The weakness of our military strength is highlighted by the 2 wars George Bush started. We have a military with the most advance weapons and technology, and yet we are still bogged down 8 years later in Iraq and Afghanistan. is this a management issue or a military strength issue????? Whatever the case may be, the start of these 2 faulty wars have shown Iranian, North Korean, African and Russian leaders that we do not have the ability to conduct a modern war. This has given those countries to act in a more aggressive manner and stir up more conflict....It is like they are beating a half dead horse.

    • 2 years ago
  • Incredulous
    • 0
      Incredulous  

    • "One consequence is a vast diversion of national resources from meeting basic human needs. As President Dwight Eisenhower stated in 1953: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."

      Indeed! Great post.

    • 2 years ago
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  

    • I also think that much of the world is getting "less BANG for its BUCK" due to corporate inefficiency, graft, lack of true competition, etc. We are making weapons systems as much for these "persons"( I guess), as for the various nations sense of security.

    • 2 years ago
more from Community:
from the community

top videos